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Some Thoughts on GHS Precision Flatwounds

RyanJD

RyanJD

Apr 19, 2011
1,828
1,232
Iowa
#1
I put a set of GHS Precision Flats on my '04 Fender MIM P bass about 3 or 4 days ago. I've played on it for probably two hours a day since, and I have a couple of notes or thoughts on them.

First of all, am I crazy or are these strings really high tension? Or is that just a flats thing? (I really have much more experience with rounds than flats. This is probably the 2nd or 3rd set of flats I've bought.)
When I was putting them on, the nut snapped off at the G string groove. I (temporarily) fixed this by loosening the G string tension, sliding the piece of the nut that broke off back under it and wrapping electrical tape around the nut. This has held very well and should be fine until the new nut I ordered comes in.
But I've changed strings dozens of times and I've never seen that happen before. This bass is about 10 years old, so I wouldn't expect it. I put the strings on one at a time and left each one tuned lower than standard EADG until I was done. Only when I was tuning the G string to pitch did it happen.
The strings don't necessarily feel like they are high tension, but they certainly aren't floppy.

The other thing I've noticed is the E string seems kind of extra "thuddy", for lack of a better term. The other strings just seems to have a bit more life. Is it possible I got a dud, or, again, is this kind of a flats thing? Because I've played (GHS) pressure wound strings that have a seemingly similar response. Or I suppose this could all be my imagination. Like I said, not much experience with flats.

Finally, I have one question: These flats are somewhat bright. Not Chromes-level of bright and zingy, but pretty far up there out of the package. I'm hoping they break in really far to hitting the point of "old school" sounding flats. That's what I'd really like to have with this P bass, but maybe I need a different set of flats to accomplish that? So what I'd like to know is, what is a good time expectation you can give me where I'll know that these strings have broken in as far as they'll go? (My choice of words is poor, but I hope you get what I'm saying.)

As always, I appreciate any input.

Ryan


tl;dr
See bolded text.
 
#2
RyanJD said:
are these strings really high tension?
Click to expand...

yes, flats have higher tension, due to the fact that there's no gap in the windings, so they don't bend easilly.

RyanJD said:
the E string seems kind of extra "thuddy"
Click to expand...

ordinary. they are vintage style flats, and like Pyramid, Labella and others on the same attitude, out of the pack they have a thuddier E and the other strings are brighter. after they all break in, they'll sound thuddy and you won't notice the difference from the E (wich actually gain a bit of sustain).

RyanJD said:
what is a good time expectation you can give me where I'll know that these strings have broken in as far as they'll go?
Click to expand...

hard to tell, it depends on use, on your "chemicals" and how they react to your sweat and other things.

for example, I usually "break in" flats in a month or less, playing at least three hours a day (often more than that). a friend of mine can't reach that point in less than three or four months...

you'll notice that they are "done" when they sound balanced and "mellow".
 
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#5
Flats do take time to mellow, and the tone difference you refer to between E and the others is normal when strings are new. How extreme that is seems to depend on the bass. I use flats on all of mine and have tried most of the brands. You will not find more of an old school thud than what GHS have except from Pyramind pure nickel flats. I used Pyramids for awhile but got frustrated because the nickel strings break easier and I always special ordered very heavy gauges. I'm using LaBella Jamersons on everything now. They are brighter than nickels or GHS flats but not so much as Chromes or Rotos. Mostly I like the heaviness and high tension which permits you to have extremely low action.
 
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#11
RyanJD said:
so hopefully the strings will wear in soon!
Click to expand...

IMHO, flats sound better with low action, to make them bark when needed!

for example, I do prefer the Donald Dunn sound over the Jamerson's one, but they use the same setup (Labella 52-110, Precision bass and Ampeg B-15). Jamerson used to keep the neck bent and an extreme high action (it's said that a finger was able to pass under the strings!)
Dunn was the opposite, straight neck and low action, with lots of buzz and "fingered slap", and the amp always near saturation.
 
#19
I like the GHS Precison Flats 45-105 set because:

A> They sound like a definite note, not like a kick drum thump
B> They have all the thump one wants from a traditional flatwound string
C> They break in relatively quickly for flats.
D> They don't feel markedly more taut than the similar gauges of hex-core nickel rounds do.

However I just took the 10+ year old set off my '82 VS '62 Precision because I heard Freddie Washington playing live with his Precision and realized that I really don't need flats to get the kind of sound I'm after. Sure, it's not exactly like what I'm hearing in my head for some songs, but the ability to have some other options is very attractive.

I still have a set of GHS flats on my Sting (reproduction of a '54 single-coil Precision) but they're young for flats- I've only had them on there for about six years.

jte
 
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